Stem Wall Bracket System and Method

ABSTRACT

A stem wall bracket comprising a horizontal member, a short vertical member extending downward from a first edge of the horizontal member, and a long vertical member extending downward from a second edge of the horizontal member, where the first edge is opposite the second edge. The stem wall bracket further comprises a pin holder configured to extend through a hole in the horizontal member. The pin holder comprises a vertical portion and a horizontal portion extending from the vertical portion, where the horizontal portion is configured to hold a horizontally oriented rebar. The short vertical member and long vertical member further comprise a plurality of holes to allow a first and second form board to be removably attached using a plurality of fasteners.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application is related to and claims priority from priorprovisional patent application Ser. No. 63/140,103 filed on Jan. 21,2021, entitled “STEM WALL BRACKET DEVICE”, the contents of all of whichare incorporated herein by this reference and are not admitted to beprior art with respect to the present invention by the mention in thiscross reference section.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to the field of foundation and stem walls.In particular, the present invention relates to a stem wall bracketsystem configured to assist in setting up stem wall forms aroundfoundations when building homes.

One foundation technique frequently used in home building is toconstruct a stem wall. A stem wall anchors a home firmly in the ground,working like roots to hold a house down and tie it into the groundbelow. Further, the stem wall, being positioned around the perimeter ofthe house, provides support for the exterior load bearing walls of thehome. It should be noted the stem wall can also provide support forinterior load bearing walls or any non-load bearing walls.

A stem wall is constructed in place at the home site. Stem walls can beconstructed of masonry or cinder block reinforced with concrete andrebar. Stems walls can also be poured concrete reinforced with rebar aspart of the foundation. When pouring the stem wall, a form of woodenboards is constructed around the periphery of the foundation.

In the normal site preparation practice, a desired building site wouldbe plotted and excavated as required for the construction of perimeterconcrete footing forms to be constructed and foundation wall footingspoured. Conventional concrete wall forms are then erected on thefootings and the concrete walls poured; the concrete forms later beingremoved and the outer periphery being backfilled to specified grade. Aconcrete foundation slab is then poured within the excavated innerconfines of the concrete perimeter wall.

From the foregoing however, it is readily apparent that the preparationand construction of the foundation pad and concrete skirting encompassesan unduly substantial amount of concrete work. Stem walls formed in sucha way provide a very stable foundation which protects from damage evenin rising waters, seismic events, and high winds. However, it isdesirable to improve the efficiency of forming stem walls as this istypically very time-consuming.

Any discussion of prior art throughout the specification should in noway be considered as an admission that such prior art is widely known orforms part of the common general knowledge in the field.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to the present invention there is provided a stem wall bracketcomprising a horizontal member, a short vertical member extendingdownward from a first edge of the horizontal member, and a long verticalmember extending downward from a second edge of the horizontal member,where the first edge is opposite the second edge. The stem wall bracketfurther comprises a pin holder configured to extend through a hole inthe horizontal member.

The pin holder comprises a vertical portion and a horizontal portionextending from the vertical portion, where the horizontal portion isconfigured to hold a horizontally oriented rebar.

The short vertical member further comprises a plurality of holes toallow a first form board to be removably attached to the short verticalmember using a plurality of fasteners. The long vertical member furthercomprises a plurality of holes to allow a second form board to beremovably attached to the long vertical member using a plurality offasteners. The stem wall bracket is configured such that the first formboard will be parallel to the second form board when removably attached.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The preferred embodiment of the present invention will now be described,by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings inwhich:

FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of a Stem Wall Bracket Device accordingto the present invention;

FIG. 2 shows a side cut-away view of the Stem Wall Bracket System andMethod according to the present invention;

FIG. 3 shows a perspective view of one vertical member of the Stem WallBracket

System and Method according to the present invention;

FIG. 4 shows a top view of a horizontal member of the Stem Wall BracketSystem and Method according to the present invention; and

FIG. 5 shows a perspective view of the Stem Wall Bracket Systemaccording to the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The foregoing and other objectives, features, and advantages of theinvention will be more readily understood upon consideration of thefollowing description of the invention taken in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings.

Now referring to the drawings, FIG. 1 shows the present invention is astem wall bracket 110 comprising a horizontal member 120, a shortvertical member 130 extending downward from a first edge 122 of thehorizontal member, and a long vertical member 140 extending downwardfrom a second edge 124 of the horizontal member. Preferably, thehorizontal member first edge 122 is opposite the horizontal membersecond edge 124 lengthwise.

In one embodiment as shown in FIG. 1, the short vertical member 130 andlong vertical member 140 are integrated into the horizontal member 120such that the stem wall bracket 110 is one piece. In an alternateembodiment, the short vertical member 130 is coupled to the first edge122 of the horizontal member 120 and the long vertical member 140 iscoupled to the second edge 124 of the horizontal member 120.

As further shown in FIG. 2, the short vertical member 130 preferablycomprises a first plurality of holes 136 configured to removably attacha first form board 132 to the short vertical member 130 using aplurality of fasteners 160. The first form board 132 is preferablylocated on a short inside surface 134 of the short vertical member 130such that the width of the first form board 132 is flat against theshort inside surface 134 of the short vertical member 130. The pluralityof fasteners 160 are inserted through the first plurality of holes 136on the short vertical member 130 into the first form board 132.

As further shown in FIG. 2, the long vertical member 140 preferablycomprises a second plurality of holes 146 configured to removably attacha second form board 142 to the long vertical member 140 using aplurality of fasteners 160. The second form board 142 is preferablylocated on a long inside surface 144 of the long vertical member 140such that the width of the second form board 142 is flat against thelong inside surface 144 of the long vertical member 140. The pluralityof fasteners 160 are inserted through the second plurality of holes 146on the long vertical member 140 into the second form board 142. Theplurality of fasteners 160 are preferably nails or screws, however,other types of fasteners not enumerated herein may be considered.

The stem wall bracket 110 is configured to hold a first form board 132that is a standard two inch by six inch (2″×6″) lumber. Additionally,the stem wall bracket 110 is further configured to hold a second formboard 142 that is a standard one inch by ten inch (1″×10″) lumber.Preferably, the stem wall bracket 110 holds the first form board 132parallel to the second form board 142. Preferably, the stem wall bracket110 positions the first form board 132 on what will be the inner stemwall side and positions the second form board 142 on what will be theouter stem wall side. The sizes of the first and second form boards arespecified for example purposes only, the stem wall bracket 110 isconfigured to accommodate other sizes of lumber for the first and secondform boards as dictated by the size and width of the resultant stemwall.

As further shown in FIGS. 1-4, the horizontal member 120, the shortvertical member 130, and the long vertical member 140 are all preferablyrelatively flat and rectangular. Preferably, the stem wall bracket 110is comprised of steel, or other stiff material such that the stem wallbracket 110 won't bend or move during use.

As further shown in FIG. 2, the stem wall bracket 110 preferably furthercomprises a pin holder 150 configured to extend downward from thehorizontal member 120 and hold a horizontally placed rebar 158. The pinholder 150 preferably comprises a vertical portion 152 configured toremovably attach to the horizontal member 120 and a horizontal portion154 extending away from the vertical portion 152.

In another embodiment, the pin holder 150 comprises a plurality ofhorizontal portions 154 spaced along the vertical portion 152. In thisembodiment, the pin holder 150 may retain a plurality of horizontallyoriented rebar 158. Additionally, in this embodiment, the plurality ofhorizontal portions 154 extend away from the vertical portion 152 alongthe same plane such that after pouring the concrete for the stem wall,the pin holder 150 is rotated at least ninety degrees to be removed,thus releasing the plurality of horizontally oriented rebar 158 into theconcrete. In another embodiment, the plurality of horizontal portions154 may extend away from the vertical portion 152 in any direction.

The vertical portion 152 of the pin holder 150 preferably comprises atop 156 configured to prevent the pin holder 150 from falling through asecond hole 128 in the horizontal member 120. The top 156 is preferablyconfigured to be larger than the second hole 128 in the horizontalmember 120.

As shown in FIG. 4, the horizontal member comprises a first hole 126 forconfigured to allow standard sized rebar 158 to fit through thehorizontal member 120 and down in between the first form board 132 andsecond form board 142 in a vertical position. The horizontal member 120further comprises a second hole 128 configured to allow the pin holder150 to fit down through the horizontal member 120.

As shown in FIG. 5, a stem wall bracket system 100 comprises a firstform board and a second form board positioned parallel to each other anda plurality of stem wall brackets 110 wherein the short vertical member130 is removably attached to the first form board 132 and the longvertical member 140 is removably attached to the second form board 142.Preferably, the plurality of stem wall brackets 110 are spaced evenlyalong the length of the first and second form boards. The first andsecond form boards are set-up such that the width of the first andsecond form boards are vertical.

A method of using a stem wall bracket, comprising the steps of placing afirst form board along an inner perimeter of a stem wall; attaching astem wall bracket to the first form board using a plurality offasteners, wherein each stem wall bracket comprises a horizontal member,a short vertical member extending downward from a first edge of thehorizontal member, and a long vertical member extending downward from asecond edge of the horizontal member, wherein the first edge is oppositethe second edge; and attaching a second form board to the stem wallbracket using a plurality of fasteners to form an outer perimeter of astem wall.

The method further comprises the steps of arranging rebar in between thefirst form board and second form board, inserting a pin holder through ahole in the horizontal member of the stem wall bracket, pouring concretein between the first form board and second form board, and removing thepin holder from the stem wall bracket by turning and pulling the pinholder out of a hole in the horizontal member.

Finally, after the concrete stem wall has cured or hardened, the laststep is removing the plurality of fasteners to remove the stem wallbracket from the first form board and second form board.

Although the present invention has been described by way of example, itshould be appreciated that variations and modifications may be madewithout departing from the scope of the invention. Furthermore, whereknown equivalents exist to specific features, such equivalents areincorporated as if specifically referred to in this specification.

What is claimed is:
 1. A stem wall bracket comprising: a horizontalmember; a short vertical member extending downward from a first edge ofthe horizontal member; and a long vertical member extending downwardfrom a second edge of the horizontal member; wherein the first edge isopposite the second edge.
 2. The stem wall bracket of claim 1, whereinthe short vertical member comprises a plurality of holes.
 3. The stemwall bracket of claim 1, wherein the long vertical member comprises aplurality of holes.
 4. The stem wall bracket of claim 1, wherein thehorizontal member comprises a first hole in approximately a centerportion, wherein the hole is sized for standard rebar to extend through.5. The stem wall bracket of claim 1, further comprising a pin holderconfigured to extend downward from the horizontal member.
 6. The stemwall bracket of claim 5, wherein the pin holder comprises a verticalportion, a horizontal portion extending outward from the verticalportion, and a top configured to prevent the pin holder from fallingthrough a second hole in the horizontal member.
 7. The stem wall bracketof claim 6, wherein the pin holder comprises a plurality of horizontalportions spaced along the vertical portion.
 8. A stem wall bracketsystem comprising: a first form board and a second form board positionedparallel to each other; and a plurality of stem wall brackets configuredto couple comprising a horizontal member, a short vertical memberextending downward from a first edge of the horizontal member, and along vertical member extending downward from a second edge of thehorizontal member, wherein the first edge is opposite the second edge;wherein the short vertical member is removably attached to the firstform board and the long vertical member is removably attached to thesecond form board; and wherein the plurality of stem wall brackets arespaced evenly along the length of the first and second form boards. 9.The stem wall bracket system of claim 8, wherein the short verticalmember comprises a plurality of holes configured to removably attach afirst form board to the short vertical member using a plurality offasteners.
 10. The stem wall bracket of claim 8, wherein the longvertical member comprises a plurality of holes configured to removablyattach a second form board to the long vertical member using a pluralityof fasteners.
 11. The stem wall bracket of claim 8, wherein thehorizontal member comprises a hole in approximately a center portion,wherein the hole is sized for standard rebar to extend through.
 12. Thestem wall bracket of claim 8, further comprising a pin holder configuredto extend downward through the horizontal member.
 13. The stem wallbracket of claim 12, wherein the pin holder comprises a vertical portionand a horizontal portion extending outward from the vertical portionwherein the horizontal portion is configured to retain a horizontallyoriented rebar, and a top configured to prevent the pin holder fromfalling through a hole in the horizontal member.
 14. The stem wallbracket of claim 13, wherein the pin holder comprises a plurality ofhorizontal portions spaced along the vertical portion.
 15. A method ofusing a stem wall bracket, comprising the steps of: placing a first formboard along an inner perimeter of a stem wall; attaching a stem wallbracket to the first form board using a plurality of fasteners, whereineach stem wall bracket comprises a horizontal member, a short verticalmember extending downward from a first edge of the horizontal member,and a long vertical member extending downward from a second edge of thehorizontal member, wherein the first edge is opposite the second edge;and attaching a second form board to the stem wall bracket using aplurality of fasteners to form an outer perimeter of a stem wall. 16.The method of using a stem wall bracket in claim 15, further comprisingthe steps of: arranging rebar in between the first form board and secondform board; inserting a pin holder through a hole in the horizontalmember of the stem wall bracket; wherein the pin holder comprises avertical portion and a horizontal portion extending outward from thevertical portion; and wherein the horizontal portion is configured toretain a horizontally oriented rebar; pouring concrete in between thefirst form board and second form board; removing the pin holder from thestem wall bracket by turning and pulling the pin holder out of a hole inthe horizontal member; and removing the plurality of fasteners to removethe stem wall bracket from the first form board and second form board.